SECRETS BETWEEN US

Aria's POV 

Dear Diary,

I know I haven’t written in a while… Amidst all the chaos in my life………

I looked around the school field of Belary High, this little excuse of a town wrapped in quiet roads and wide skies. I still couldn’t believe I was here. Me. Aria Gilbert. Stuck in this town like some kind of exile. But my parents made sure I learned my lesson….. one way or another.

Let’s not sugarcoat it, okay…. I was a spoiled kid. Hell, I still am.

My dad is the president of Rexals Corporation, the biggest shipping company in the State of Texas. I grew up surrounded by everything I ever wanted - private jets, elite school, designer clothes. I've never known what "need" really means. Not once. Every craving, every whim, was handed to me like I was royalty.

And yes, I partied. Hard. I drank, smoked, snuck out, hooked up, crashed more than just parties. I guess I thought I was untouchable. That my last name could erase any consequences.

Until it didn’t.

The night everything spiraled was just another night to me…. Well until it wasn’t. I was behind the wheel of my Porsche, Jake - my long-time boyfriend sat beside me, my friends laughing in the backseat, the scent of tequila still burning down my throat. Then lights. Screams. Glass. I crashed straight into a convenience store. Barely missed killing two people inside.

Jake got a concussion. One of my friends broke her arm. I walked away with nothing but a scratch- and the weight of knowing it could’ve been so much worse.

So my parents did what rich people do best: damage control. And part of that meant removing me from the scene. I was sent to live with my distant relatives in this dusty little town for a full year, forced into Belary High like a caged animal.

I hated every second of it.

I didn’t care about fitting in. I didn’t want new friends. I just wanted to survive this school year and get back to my world. Graduation was supposed to be a formality - but now it felt like a life sentence.

The loud ringing of the school bell yanked me from my thoughts. Apparently, everyone had to be at the hockey court for some "important" meeting. I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t care less about whatever the principal had to say. Probably some boring speech about discipline or team spirit or whatever made small-town adults feel powerful.

I scoffed as I gathered my things, blending in with the students, all excited and chattering.  

I was almost at the court, just about to round the corner, when I slammed into something - or rather, someone - pretty hard.

I stumbled, books flying out of my arms. I almost hit the pavement, but strong hands caught me before I went down completely.

Great.

I looked up, already annoyed, and found myself face-to-face with a pair of gray eyes that sparkled with amusement—and the most annoyingly perfect dimples I’d ever seen.

Of course. Damon Romero.

Belary High’s golden boy. Hockey star. Captain of the team. Resident heartthrob and town favorite. Practically their own version of Zeus in a varsity jacket.

He was exactly the kind of guy I couldn’t stand.

He’s been a pain in my side since the first day I got here. He sits behind me in most of our classes, whispering the dumbest things into my ear like it’s funny. And always……. always calling me Goldilocks, like I'm the only girl with long blonde hair. As if he doesn’t know my name. Like I’m just some pretty, flaky stereotype.  

Once, in geometry class, he leaned in close…… too close…. and whispered, “Do you know you have the sexiest ass ever?”

God, I wanted to throw my protractor at his face. I switched seats the next day.

So here he was again, grinning at me like he was the second coming of Thor.

“Gotta be more careful there, Goldilocks,” he said, flashing that damn smirk.

“Yeah, thanks,” I muttered coldly, crouching down to gather my scattered books.

He crouched too, reaching to help. “Here, let me —-”

“NO” My voice was sharp, final. “I don’t need your help.”

He raised both hands like I’d pulled a weapon on him, but that smirk didn’t budge. I snatched my last notebook from the ground and walked off without looking back.

I could feel his eyes on me, even as the distance grew between us.

—----------------------------------------------

The assembly was exactly what I expected: a total waste of my time.

The Principal – Mr. Holloway or Hollow-face or something —-- was practically bouncing with excitement. He went on and on about the upcoming State Hockey Tournament, which apparently was a huge deal in Belary. I could practically hear the school spirit oozing off the bleachers like bad cologne.

And of course, he couldn't finish two sentences without praising Damon like he was some kind of sports messiah.

“Make some noise for our very own hockey captain, Damon Romero!”

The gym exploded.

Cheering. Screaming. People actually standing up. A girl in front of me clapped so hard her bracelet snapped.

I sat still, arms folded. Completely unimpressed.

Damon jogged up to the podium like he was on a runway. He wore that same smug smile —- like he knew he was hot and charming and beloved, and had no intention of being humble about it.

“Thank you, everyone,” he began, gripping the mic. “On behalf of the entire hockey team of Belary High, I want to assure you that we're going to bring that trophy and title home.”

More screaming. More applause.

He gave a little wave, a mock bow. Everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt.

But then… something happened.

He paused.

Lifted his head.

Scanned the crowd.

His eyes moved slowly over the sea of students. Like he was looking for someone in particular. Then his gaze stopped. On me.

Our eyes locked and he smirked again.

And winked.

It was quick. Small. Barely noticeable to anyone else. But I saw it.

And in that tiny moment, my stomach flipped—like I’d gone over a bump too fast.

I hated that.

I hated him.

But I couldn’t lie—-something inside me… shifted…. something I couldn't explain. 

________________________

My next class couldn’t have been better. Damon wasn’t there to torture me, so I could just sit in peace and pretend I was invisible. Honestly, it felt like a mini holiday. 

The only problem was Maths.

I hated maths… not because I was bad at it, but because it was… boring. I could solve equations, sure, but did I want to? Absolutely not. The thought of sitting through Mrs. Fisher’s endless explanations made me wish I could float somewhere far away.

“Bring out your textbooks and turn to page forty-six,” Mrs. Fisher said, already scribbling something on the board.

I sighed, dragging my book onto my desk. One look at the page told me I could solve this in five minutes at home. But no, we had to go through it together… step by painful step.

“Do you actually get this stuff, or do you just pretend like the rest of us?” a voice asked from beside me.

I turned. It was the girl who always sat quietly next to me…. long hair framing her face, usually hidden behind it. This was the first time she’d ever spoken to me.

“I… get it,” I admitted. “But don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain.”

She smiled. “I’m Ella.”

“Yeah, I know. You’ve been here since the start of term,” I said, then instantly regretted it because it came off too strong. 

She raised an eyebrow. “And this is the first time you’ve said anything to me?”

“Damon’s usually here, sucking up all my energy like an emotional vacuum cleaner.”

Her lips twitched. “I’ve noticed. He kind of likes to annoy you.”

“Oh, it’s his life mission.”

Mrs. Fisher cleared her throat from the front. “Alright, who can tell me the first step?”

Dead silence. I looked at my desk. Eye contact meant certain death and I wasn't prepared for that. 

Ella leaned closer, whispering, “I don’t get why letters get to hang out with numbers. It just feels wrong.”

I smirked. “They call it algebra. I call it identity theft.”

Her laugh escaped before she could stop it, and Mrs. Fisher’s gaze snapped to us. “Is something funny?”

“No, ma’am,” I said quickly.

We kept quiet after that, but I noticed Ella’s notebook filling with half-solved lines and messy scribbles.

“You’re overcomplicating it,” I whispered, turning her book around. I wrote the first two steps. “Once you isolate the x, the rest is easy.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “That actually makes sense.”

“Shocking, right?” I handed her pen back.

We worked quietly, but she kept glancing at my page. Finally, she said, “You’d make a good teacher.”

I gave her a look. “You take that back.”

“Why? You explain it better than Mrs. Fisher.”

“Because if I’m a teacher, I’ll be trapped in a classroom forever. And the Damons of the world will win.”

She grinned. “Fair enough.”

When the bell finally rang, I realised the class hadn’t be

en as awful as usual.

Ella zipped her bag. “Are you sitting alone at lunch?”

“Usually.”

“Wanna not do that today?”

I hesitated for half a second before nodding. “Sure.”